June players of the month
Hitter of the month:
1B – Yonder Alonso
June totals: 290/371/376 – 1 HR, 5 2B, 10 RBI
The offense took a pretty serious hit in the month of June. Regular contributors cooled considerably, as evidenced by the fact that the hitter of the month posted a sub-400 SLG. The Padres first baseman continued his penchant for putting the ball in play with 27 hits. The trouble with Alonso is just a confounded lack of power. With only 6 extra-base hits in the month, Alonso trailed nearly every other regular. The power the Padres expected to develop just hasn’t arrived, which begs the question: how long can the Padres stick with a corner infielder that hits singles.
Pitcher of the month:
RHP – Brandon Maurer
June totals: 4-0, 1.23 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, 7.98 K/9, 4.33 K/BB
In a month were none of the starters stood out, why not go with a dominant set-up guy? After a rough start to his Padres career, Maurer has been everything the Padres were hoping for when they acquired him from the Mariners. Not only is he posting plenty of bagels, he is doing so in some high-leverage innings. The front office has commented Maurer could be a starter, but when you consider his injury history and how well he is pitching out of the bullpen, he sure seems like a lock-down 8th inning reliever. Imagine a tandem of Maurer/Kimbrel at the end of games for the next 4 years.
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